Performance Today®

It's great to see pictures of the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina; the colorful, corrugated buildings of La Boca neighborhood, the colonial filigree of the San Telmo area. But what does it sound like? On Monday's Performance Today, the Canadian Guitar Quartet will give us a musical tour of this fascinating city.

Pianist Fazil Say played with the French National Orchestra in Paris this season. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear two highlights from Paris: a crowd-pleasing piano concerto by Camille Saint-Saens, and a stunning encore composed - and played - by Fazil Say.

Each week on Performance Today, we feature music written in the 21st century. But what does it mean to be a 21st century composer? Anna Clyne moved to New York and juggled jobs as a cellist, a waitress, a florist and an apartment cleaner until finally - a composing scholarship came through and her career took off. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear music by Anna Clyne.

How does flutist Aaron Perdue deal the pressures of performing in front of an audience? He laces up his sneakers and hits the road. Aaron Perdue is our fit PT Young Artist in Residence this week, and on Thursday's Performance Today he'll join Fred in the studio for music and conversation.

Aaron Perdue is our newest PT Young Artist in Residence. Perdue grew up in small-town Colorado; as a result, his family literally had to go to great lengths so that he could learn to play the flute. On Wednesday's Performance Today, Perdue will join Fred in the studio for music and conversation.

Listen to in-studio interviews with host Fred Child and exclusive musical performances by flutist Aaron Perdue and pianist Christopher McKiggan.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born January 27th, 1756. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll take you to Mozart Week, a big annual party in Mozart's hometown of Salzburg.

Pianist Fazil Say played with the French National Orchestra in Paris this season. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear two highlights from Paris: a crowd-pleasing piano concerto by Camille Saint-Saens, and a stunning encore composed - and played - by Fazil Say.

It's like a game for composers: take a simple tune, then come up with as many twists on that tune as possible. It's called theme and variations, and composers have been having fun with it for centuries. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll have fun with variations by Rachmaninoff, Bach, Bernstein, and Haydn.